the winter solstice
consumes the last bit of sun
swallowing it whole
This feels almost mythic, like something out of a traditional creation story. Indeed, one finds tales like this in many indigenous cultures. The idea of the winter solstice consuming “the last bit of the sun / swallowing it whole” suggest an animal like a raven, or perhaps a wolf. But it could also be the night itself which, having expanded as fully as possible on the night of the solstice, is like a maw opening wide. An original poem with a spooky, visceral appeal.
—Clark Strand